5 Reasons Why People Like to Watch Horror Movies

Last month, the world was surrounded with the creepiness of Halloween. People dressing up in various costumes, watching movies and trick-o-treating! However, thinking of all these fearful aspects, have you ever wondered why people actually like the idea of fear in horror movies? Well, we have. Even though these movies end up scaring the very wit out of us, we still want more. Is it the fear? Is it the violence? Or is it the fact that being scared is just a fun thing to endure? Let’s find out five reasons why people like horror movies.

Sometimes It’s Not About Being Scared

Have you ever wondered why fans of horror movies rarely ever get spooked by them? Well, that’s probably because fans don’t necessarily have to get scared. According to extensive research done by a professor at Purdue University, Indiana, being scared isn’t their motive. This means that they don’t follow fear as a negative emotion. Fans of horror movies look towards the adrenaline that they receive when watching such films. We often mistake this as fear.

Confidence Booster

You’ve probably heard some of your friends bragging about how they stayed through an entire horror movie. Horror movies are widely used as fear encouragers. You have also probably been baffled as to how they did that. Well, according to the same source, horror movies may pose as confidence boosters to some people. After facing their fears in the movie, they have conquered a new challenge. This also gives them bragging rights and the confidence to endure tough situations in life. Glenn Sparks also spoke about how they relate some scenes from a movie to real life. They have the notion that if such a thing occurs, they would be able to overcome it with ease.

A Philosopher’s Take

A long time ago, Philosopher, Aristotle claimed that people went through a process called Catharsis. This process is defined by the purging of negative emotions by people when listening to horror stories or dramatic illustrations. To brief it down a bit to modern thinking, it means that Aristotle claims that people watch horror movies in order to release suppressed feelings of anger and aggression that may have not received the opportunity to vent out. Such old discoveries and theories are great because they allow us, people of today, to find out why such things occur.

It May Be In Our DNA

A scientific research wrote a thesis on how the need for horror in our system is almost primal. Interesting isn’t it? Well, this theory may relate to our ancestors. During the hunting and gathering era, people were under a lot of stress as they were on constant watch of predators and other dangers. Because of this, the desire to receive scary feelings became stored in our DNA and followed on for generations to come. After watching a movie, we are satisfying that very desire and therefore, our need to overcome danger is met as well.

Coming Back for More

This theory about scary movies is an important one made by Glenn Sparks. It states that there is a certain transfer process that occurs after watching such a movie. It focuses more on feelings received after watching the scary movie. During the movie, a lot of biological and neurological processes occur. These include blood pressure, respiration and heart rate increase. However, after the film ends, you won’t really remember all of that. In fact, you will recall how fun it was and the thrill you experienced thanks to the movie. This will also allow you to come back for more, thus starting the obsession with the genre.